Chapter 2: The Man Who Asked for His Wife
A tall man in a charcoal-gray suit stood on my doorstep.
He looked like someone who hadn't slept properly in days.
His tie was slightly loose. His jaw was tight, and his right hand held a black leather folder.
He glanced at me.
“Claire?””
“Yes.””
“I'm Marcus Reed.””
“I know.””
He looked past my shoulder, toward the dining room.
Then he asked the question I had been expecting.
“Where's my wife?””
I stepped aside.
“Inside.””
Marcus didn't move immediately.
For a moment, he simply stood there, looking at me.
“Are you certain?”” he asked.
I nodded.
“She arrived about an hour ago.””
His expression hardened.
“Does Daniel know I'm coming?””
“No.””
Marcus let out a humorless breath.
“Good.””
He stepped inside.
I closed the door behind him.
The sound of his shoes against the hardwood floor grew louder as we approached the dining room.
I could hear Daniel laughing.
Vanessa was speaking.
Then Marcus appeared in the doorway.
“Vanessa.””
The laughter stopped.
Vanessa turned first.
Her champagne glass remained suspended near her lips.
The color drained from her face.
“Marcus?””
Daniel slowly turned his head.
His expression changed from irritation to confusion.
Then recognition.
Then something close to terror.
The champagne glass slipped from his fingers.
It hit the wooden floor and shattered.
Nobody moved.
Marcus looked directly at Vanessa.
“Hello, sweetheart.””
Vanessa stood so quickly that her chair scraped backward.
“What are you doing here?””
Marcus glanced at the empty chair beside her.
“I could ask you the same thing.””
Daniel stood up.
“Marcus.””
Marcus turned toward him.
“Daniel Whitmore.””
Daniel swallowed.
“I didn't know you were coming.””
“Clearly.””
Marcus placed his leather folder on the table.
Vanessa shook her head.
“This isn't what it looks like.””
Marcus looked at the champagne glass in front of her.
Then at Daniel's hand resting on the back of her chair.
“Really?””
He pulled out a chair opposite them.
“Then please explain why my wife is celebrating with yours.””
Daniel looked at me.
“Claire, what is this?””
I remained beside the doorway.
“My birthday dinner.””
“Don't play games.””
“I'm not.””
“Who invited him?””
“I did.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“You invited this man into our home?””
I looked at him calmly.
“Yes.””
Marcus gave a short laugh.
“Your home?””
He opened the folder.
“That's interesting.””
Daniel stared at the documents.
“What is that?””
“Something you should have looked at before inviting my wife to sit beside you.””
Vanessa took a step backward.
“Marcus, please. We can talk about this privately.””
“We've talked privately for months, Vanessa.””
He removed a photograph from the folder and placed it on the table.
It showed Vanessa and Daniel outside a hotel in downtown Chicago.
Daniel's arm was around her waist.
Vanessa was kissing his cheek.
The date was printed clearly beneath the image.
March 14.
Daniel glanced at it and immediately looked away.
“That's not what it looks like.””
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Apparently, everyone in this room has a different understanding of photographs.””
Vanessa began shaking her head.
“You're making a mistake.””
Marcus pulled out another photograph.
This one showed Daniel carrying Vanessa's suitcase into an apartment building.
Then another.
A restaurant receipt with two names.
A hotel reservation.
A message printed from a phone.
Marcus arranged them neatly across the table.
“Should I continue?””
Vanessa's voice cracked.
“Please stop.””
“Why? Are you embarrassed?””
She looked at Daniel.
He was no longer looking at her.
Instead, he was staring at me.
“Claire, we need to talk.””
I folded my arms.
“About what?””
“Not in front of him.””
Marcus leaned back.
“Don't worry. I'll be here.””
Daniel's jaw tightened.
“This is a private family matter.””
Marcus pointed at Vanessa.
“My wife is sitting at your family table. I'd say it became my matter a long time ago.””
Vanessa began crying.
“Marcus, I never meant for this to happen.””
He looked at her for several seconds.
“Did you mean to tell me you were working late every Friday?””
She said nothing.
“Did you mean to take the money from our joint account?””
Her eyes widened.
“Marcus—”
“Did you mean to tell me you were visiting your sick mother while you were actually staying in an apartment Daniel paid for?””
Daniel stepped forward.
“That's enough.””
Marcus stood.
“No. It's not.””
He placed a printed bank statement on the table.
“Because there's something else you might want to explain.””
Daniel looked down.
His face went pale.
The document showed multiple transfers from Whitmore Development to a company called Vantage Living LLC.
The total was $186,000.
Vanessa's name appeared as the registered owner.
Daniel immediately grabbed the paper.
“Where did you get this?””
Marcus didn't answer.
I did.
“I found the transfers.””
Daniel turned toward me.
“You went through my accounts?””
“Our accounts,” I corrected.
“You had no right.””
I almost laughed.
No right.
That was what he wanted to discuss.
Not the affair.
Not the apartment.
Not the money.
The fact that I had discovered it.
“Daniel,” I said, “you used the money from the company we built together to pay for another woman's apartment.””
He slammed the document onto the table.
“You don't understand how business works.””
“Then explain it.””
“It's complicated.””
“Try.””
He opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Vanessa wiped her cheeks.
“Daniel told me the money was a bonus.””
Marcus turned toward her.
“A bonus?””
She nodded nervously.
“He said the company owed him money.””
Daniel shot her a warning look.
She stopped speaking.
Marcus noticed.
“So you knew the money came from somewhere.””
Vanessa looked down.
I watched Daniel's face.
For the first time in years, he looked genuinely frightened.
Not because he had hurt me.
Not because he had betrayed another marriage.
Because the two people he had been deceiving were finally sitting at the same table.
He walked toward me.
“Claire, listen. We can fix this.””
I didn't move.
“You've misunderstood everything.””
“Then why did you tell Vanessa she could have my seat?””
He blinked.
“What?””
“Why did you tell me to be a good wife while you were giving another woman the place beside you?””
He lowered his voice.
“Don't make this emotional.””
I stared at him.
“You made it emotional when you brought her into our home.””
Vanessa suddenly grabbed her handbag.
“I'm leaving.””
Marcus stepped aside, allowing her to move toward the hallway.
She stopped beside him.
“Please, Marcus. We have a marriage. We have a life.””
He looked at her.
“Had.””
Her handbag slipped slightly from her shoulder.
“Don't say that.””
“You didn't think about our marriage when you were spending my money and sleeping with another woman's husband.””
Daniel interrupted.
“Marcus, don't speak to her like that.””
Marcus slowly turned.
“Interesting. You seem very concerned about my wife's feelings.””
Daniel clenched his fists.
“Watch your mouth.””
Marcus gave him a cold smile.
“Or what?””
For a second, I thought Daniel might hit him.
But then Marcus opened the folder again and removed a final document.
He placed it directly in front of Daniel.
“Before either of you decides to leave, there's something you need to understand.””
Daniel looked down.
“What is this?””
Marcus tapped the first page.
“Your company.””
Daniel scanned the document.
His eyes moved from one paragraph to another.
Then he looked at me.
And for the first time that afternoon, he seemed to understand that I hadn't invited Marcus simply to expose an affair.
I had invited him because the affair was only the beginning.
“Claire,” he whispered.
“What?””
His finger trembled over the signature at the bottom.
“Why is your name on this?””
I looked at Marcus.
Then back at my husband.
“Because, Daniel, you forgot something very important.””
May you like
I stepped closer to the table.
“Your company was never entirely yours.””
